This Is Why Women Aren’t Making Progress Financially

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Mindset

It’s even worse than I thought!

Study after study after study have shown that women want to be more actively involved with their own and their family’s financial well-being and are hungry for information about financial planning and investing YET…

…despite this knowing and urgency there is still something blocking many women from feeling they have what they need to confidently invest and grow sustainable wealth (skill, advice and support) and to ensure their financial security and independence.

A recent study of women across age groups from gen y, gen X, baby boomers to retirees found that:

92% of women want to learn more about financial planning and be more involved in ensuring their own financial security,

But despite all this wanting – the probability of it happening is dismal!!! And that’s not a juicy, sexy BUTT at all!

The vast majority of women confessed they hold back when it comes to talking about money AND actually avoid taking the lead in their own financial empowerment!

I could pull my hair out, rant and rave and get all frustrated at how us women hold ourselves back and deprive the world as a result of our financial disempowerment but that isn’t going to help one little bit.

We all know financial empowerment is important.

We all know there cannot be the peace and liberation and social equity and justice we dream of, let alone the energy directed at redressing the damage we have done to this world without women having the power of money beneath their wings.

Ignorance of the imperative for financial empowerment is not the problem.

There is something deeper going on…

Let’s see what the data revealed.

eight in 10 women confess they consciously hold back from discussing their finances with those they are close to,

only 47% of women say they are confident discussing money and investing with a financial advisor on their own, and

only 8% say they feel confident to make their own money management and investment decisions!

The studies show that 83% of women would like to become more engaged with their finances and more specifically:

92% want to learn about financial planning

75% want to learn more about creating assets and investing

…yet, when asked about their comfort level with discussing different topics with friends and family the results were surprising.

Women are less likely to discuss their finances with friends and family than other traditionally “taboo” topics.

Women are most likely to talk with their partners about:

78% Health issues

71% Issues at work

And less likely to discuss

65% Investment ideas

48% Difficulties about looking after their ageing parents

47% Shopping tips

Uuuuurg! No wonder so many relationship fail. Come on sisters, let’s juice things up with loads more sexy “asset” talk!

What about with our friends? According to this survey things aren’t that much juicier in that arena either. Apparently, women are most likely to speak with friends about:

65% Shopping tips

46% Parenting issues

44% Issues at work

43% Health issues

But they keep schtum about investment ideas and spending habits.

In fact, four in five women (80%) have, at some point, consciously refrained from talking about their finances with those they are close to even when they were really worried about their financial well-being.

A number of factors hold women back from talking money with loved ones and the number #1 reason being they feel it’s too personal.

DAMN RIGHT IT’S PERSONAL!

Money is one of the most important inputs in life, the thing we need to have shelter over our heads, put food in our bellies and be able to fully experience life!

The other reasons cited are:

I don’t want those close to me to know this about me

It feels uncomfortable

I feel embarrassed because I don’t know enough to talk about it confidently

I was raised to believe talking about finances was rude

This reluctance to get down and dirty with money and finances let alone even speak about it extends even wider. The survey revealed that it’s not just people we have close connections with that us women get all tongue tied with, women are even reluctant when discussing their finances with the people they pay for this exact thing!

The study results show that while:

77% of women are confident discussing medical issues with a doctor on their own,

only 47% are comfortable talking about money and investing with a financial advisor.

I think more people should feel wary about the advice given by most supposed financial professions since the vast majority are nothing more than sales people trying to sell overpriced and very poor quality investments to unwitting and financially illiterate people. But my wariness of the financial industry isn’t the reason most women don’t feel confident or comfortable. The fear of looking and sounding ignorant is the reason and this fear is the thing that makes women great targets for horrible costly investment products that serve the financial industry in massive commissions and fees but keep women from their freedom.

Most saddening to me of all is…

…many women are nervous about the financial decisions they make, they second guess themselves and feel confused and uncertain about their financial future.

In fact:

50% doubt their day to day financial decisions and this self-doubt is even higher in Gen X (58%) and Gen Y (57%) women than their Boomer peers (41%),

62% say they are confused when it comes to navigating their future financial path and have almost no certainty about their future financial freedom,

60% shared that they frequently worry about not having enough money to last through their old age

AND

only 8% of the women surveyed said they feel confident to make their own investment decisions.

We’ve got a crisis here girls!A Confidence Crisis!

Confidence is the #1 factor keeping women back from experiencing the peace of mind that comes with taking full responsibility for our own financial well-being and having investments working away diligently to keep you safe and secure and provide you with all you need to live fully and experience a big, sumptuous juicy life.

60% of the women surveyed confessed they frequently worry about not having enough money to last through retirement and stress that they will have to ask for financial support from family or worse hope that the government will be able to provide for at least their basic survival need – a concept which is rapidly looking more and more like the poor old dodo!

Research shows that lack of financial knowledge and experience, and not knowing where to turn for guidance or who to trust are the primary reasons for this confidence crisis.

This is a real challenge for us because…

lack of confidence breeds lack of confidence!

This insecurity and feeling of inadequacy in the realm of financial management and investing means women don’t ask as many questions as they should, they don’t seek out information, they don’t dive in and get experience which in turn would give them confidence and they often avoid dealing with financial problems as they arise allowing the issue to fester and grow until it is a catastrophic problem.

Tweet : We can only break this cycle by putting on our big girl panties and being okay with feeling a little bit uncomfortable now rather than massively uncomfortable later!

The price of avoiding the short-term discomfort of doing what it takes to learn these skills is too great a price to pay. The price is realising too late that all those fears of looking stupid, getting it wrong or making waves were an illusion, an illusion that has taken you down a path where all the dreams and hopes you’ve had for yourself and those you love have to be flushed down the drain because you didn’t dare to break the cycle of financial disempowerment which has been women’s legacy for centuries!

I have just shared this article on my Menopause Mentoring page. This is the narrative: “Mid life can bring a host of issues with it. Menopausal symptoms can be exhausting, fry your brain power and leave you struggling to keep up with the life you’ve created. One of the most frustrating things I see is women who are not only exhausted, but get so poorly they leave well paid jobs that they used to love. They then either take something that just helps them keep afloat or in some cases, they revert to staying at home. And that is a sensible thing to do if you have the support. But what if you don’t? Or what if those supporting you just want you to ‘get back to work’? And what if, you have minimal savings and investments to tide you over?
How many women (or men come to that) receive an adequate – full – financial education? How much money do you want in your life? How can you grow what you do have? Do you even know it is possible? Is it easy to invest or is it just for the wealthy? I watched my mother get very poorly in mid life. I knew she wanted her financial freedom. My father cheated on her, she was heartbroken and wanted to leave. She wanted her own fully realised life and not to continue being dependent on him but she hardly had a bean saved – and he refused to leave anyway. I was taught by her that it was ‘very rude’ to talk about money. That was a HUGE blocker for me.So I took the step – very recently after trying different approaches – of getting myself a proper financial education. It was eye opening. I now have an investment portfolio, a plan, and knowledge which guides me. I get more confident every month.